Wayfarers of the South Tigris
Wayfarers of the South Tigris Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
Be the player with the most Victory Points (VP) at the game's end. Points are primarily gained by mapping the land, water, and sky. Players can also gain points from upgrading their Caravans, by gaining Inspiration, and by Influencing the three Guilds of Science, Trade and Exploration. As they make discoveries, players will want to quickly Journal their progress. The game end is triggered once a player has reached the far-right column of the Journal Track.
Components
- 20 Dice (5 in each player colour), 60 Influence (15 per colour), 4 Player Markers, 12 Workers (4 in each colour: Green, Yellow, Blue), 10 Journal Tiles, 48 Silver, 48 Provisions
- 62 Upgrade Tiles (4 each in Yellow, Blue, Black, and Green; 1 of each Pink/Special tile), 36 Townsfolk Cards, 36 Land Cards, 36 Water Cards, 36 Space Cards, 16 Inspiration Cards, 6 Scheme Cards (solo)
- 3 double-sided Main Board Sections (either side usable at any player count), 4 double-sided Player Boards (AI/solo side on the back)
Setup
- Place the 3 Main Board Sections together in the middle. Either side of each Board may be used, creating variety between plays.
- Shuffle the Townsfolk, Space, Land, Water, and Inspiration Cards into their own separate decks, forming 5 facedown Draw Piles in the indicated spaces.
- Draw the top 4 Cards from each Draw Pile, placing them faceup in the spaces alongside their respective Piles.
- Shuffle the Journal Tiles and place 1 faceup onto each empty space of the Journal Track.
- Place 1 Green Worker onto each indicated space along the middle of the Journal Track.
- Place all 10 Special (Pink) Upgrade Tiles onto their indicated spaces of the Main Board.
- Place 1 of each unique Green, Black, Yellow and Blue Upgrade Tile per player onto their spaces of the Main Board (return excess to the box if fewer than 4 players).
- Place the Silver and Provisions alongside the Main Board as the Main Supply.
- Randomly decide a first player. Using the turn-order chart, give each player their starting Provisions, Silver and Influence in the 3 Guilds based on where they sit. Influence in a Guild is shown by placing Influence onto the matching Minaret. (Blue/first player: 2 Provisions, 3 Silver, 1 Influence in the Exploration/blue Guild. Each later player gets the same plus 1 extra Influence in a further Guild.)
Give each player: 1 Player Board (dealt at random); 5 Dice in their colour (2 placed in a reserve near the Minarets, 3 rolled and placed by their Board); 15 Influence; 1 Player Marker on the far-left end of the Main Board; 1 Yellow Worker and 1 Blue Worker. Return excess components to the box for fewer than 4 players.
Gameplay Overview
Play proceeds clockwise over an undetermined number of turns until the end-game is triggered. On each turn, a player must do exactly one of: place a Die, place a Worker, or Rest.
Tags
Players collect Tags found on Player Boards, Land Cards, Water Cards, Space Cards, and Special Upgrade Tiles. Tags are often required for scoring VP and advancing on the Journal Track.
- Land/Water Tags: City, Vista, Harbour, Open Water, Observatory, Library.
- Space Tags: Stars, Planet, Sun, Moon, Comet.
Primary Tags are City, Vista, Harbour, and Open Water — these score VP in 2 ways:
- Common sets: Score each of your 4 primary Tag types individually by count. 0-1 Tags scores 0 VP; 2-7 Tags score the printed values. Tags beyond 7 do not score additional VP.
- Unique sets: Score 5 VP for each set of 4 unique primary Tags (1 of each type).
Influence
Each player has 15 Influence used to mark Influence on Cards or in the 3 Guilds.
- Influence a Card: Place an Influence onto any faceup Card around the Main Board's edges that doesn't already have one. To interact with a Card carrying an opponent's Influence, you must first pay that opponent 1 Silver or 1 Provision; if you cannot pay, you cannot interact. Interacting means acquiring the Card, placing a Worker on it, or retrieving a Worker from it. Influence on a Card is removed (returned to its owner) only when that Card is acquired.
- Influence a Guild: Place an Influence onto the indicated Guild's Minaret. A generic icon lets you choose the Guild; specific icons name a colour.
- Move Influence: Move 1 of your Influence from one Guild to a different Guild.
- Spend Influence: Some effects require spending Influence from a specific Guild (returned to your supply).
If you gain the ability to Influence a Card or Guild but have none left in supply, you may instead move an Influence from a Card or Guild.
Journaling
Advancing your Player Marker along the Journal Track is a major focus.
- Journal icon: Move your Player Marker 1 space to the right on the Journal Track.
- Spaces are connected by ink splotches; to move over one you must meet its printed requirement. The first 2 ink splotches have no requirements. Some ink splotches require spending Influence — if you cannot spend it, you cannot pass.
- When moving onto a new space, immediately resolve any effect shown there (a Journal Tile or a pre-printed effect). Journal Tiles are never removed and are resolved by each player that reaches them.
- Any number of players may share a space, except the 5 right-most spaces, each limited to 1 Player Marker. Reaching one of these 5 final spaces triggers the end-game.
- The first player to move into either of the 2 spaces adjacent to a Green Worker on the Track immediately removes it to their supply.
Guilds
Three Guilds: Science (Black), Trade (Yellow), Exploration (Blue) — the 3 coloured Minarets. The player with the most Influence in each Guild gains 3 VP at game's end (ties: no one scores). Each Guild also lets players spend its Influence, usable at most once per turn each:
- Black (Science): When Journaling, move 1 additional space.
- Yellow (Trade): Increase or decrease your Dice by 2.
- Blue (Exploration): When placing a Die, act as if it had a Ship.
Cards
There are 5 Card types, gained mainly for their Tags and VP:
Land Cards
Placed to the left of the Player Board. Primary Tags: Cities and Vistas.
- Cities provide new Dice placement spaces and can carry 2 secondary Tags: Observatories and Libraries.
- Observatories are Cities that mostly interact with Space Cards and Upgrade Tiles.
- Libraries are Cities (or Harbours) that usually provide more effective Journaling on the Main Board.
- Vistas provide ongoing benefits when gaining other Cards or Upgrade Tiles.
- Some Land Cards feature one-time immediate effects (left side, above the lightning bolt bar), gained after adding the Card to your panorama.
Water Cards
Placed to the right of the Player Board. Primary Tags: Harbours and Open Waters.
- Harbours provide new Dice placement spaces and can carry 1 secondary Tag: Libraries.
- Open Waters provide one-time immediate benefits.
- Water Cards can provide additional immediate effects through Connection Links — the 4 bars down each side. When adding a Water Card, resolve the one-time effects where its links line up with adjacent Cards' links.
Space Cards
Placed above Land or Water Cards (never over an empty slot below). Tags: Sun, Moon, Planet, Comet, Stars.
- Sun / Moon: Only 1 of each. Alone each is worth 3 VP; having both makes each worth 7 VP (14 for the pair).
- Planet (5 cards): Score 1 VP plus 1 VP per Planet Tag (including its own).
- Comet (8 cards): Each worth 1-3 VP (printed top-left). But if you have more Comet Tags than each individual opponent, your Comet Cards are each worth 4 VP instead.
- Stars (remaining 21): Score VP for various conditions — collecting Tags, Upgrade Tiles, or having Influence in Guilds. Examples: 1 VP per set of 1 Townsfolk + 1 Space + 1 Land + 1 Water Card; 3 VP per set of 1 Comet Tag + 1 Planet Tag + 1 Star Tag.
- Some Space Cards feature one-time immediate effects (right side, below the lightning bolt bar) gained when added.
Inspiration Cards
Tucked above a Space Card (max 1 per Space Card). They provide no Tags and require none to acquire, but give a goal. If achieved by game's end, they double the VP of the Space Card they're tucked above. Failing a goal has no negative effect (just no doubling). If you have no available Space Card or don't want the Inspiration Card, you may instead discard it for an immediate effect equal to the Worker Placement spot it was adjacent to (placed facedown under the Inspiration Draw Pile).
Townsfolk Cards
Tucked underneath a Land or Water Card (max 1 per Card). They provide no Tags but require specific Tags to acquire — they may only tuck under a Card featuring at least 1 required Tag. Once tucked, they increase the usefulness of the Card above them or provide another benefit; their ability can resolve before or after the host Card's ability. Placement restrictions: the Scholar must go under a Library or Observatory; the Scribe under a Vista; the Enforcer (and all Townsfolk with Resting abilities) under an Open Water; the Messenger under a City or Harbour. Townsfolk score from each player's starting Star Card: 1 VP per pair of 1 Townsfolk Card + 1 Upgrade Tile (any type).
Player Boards
Player Boards represent Baghdad. They consist of a starting City Card, Harbour Card, Star Card, and 1 tucked Townsfolk Card (all treated as Cards). The middle features an Observatory and Library with 4 Dice placement spaces (not itself a Land or Water Card). The top-left third is the Caravan, which dictates what your Dice can do; Upgrade Tiles are placed here to add abilities.
Acquiring Cards
Usually take from the 4 available faceup Cards (some effects allow taking from the top of a Draw Pile). Costs:
- Land / Water Cards: No inherent cost; cost is dictated by the action taken.
- Space Cards: Cost Silver based on their slot (3-5 Silver).
- Inspiration Cards: Always free (but rarely acquired).
- Townsfolk Cards: A set price shown top-left (0-3 Silver).
When a Dice placement action acquires a Land or Water Card, you may forgo the faceup Card to instead draw 3 and keep 1 — to do so you must have an available Pigeon or spend 1 Provision, and you must keep 1 of the drawn Cards.
Refreshing faceup Cards (only at the end of each player's turn, after a Card is acquired): slide faceup Cards to fill empty slots, then reveal new Cards from the Draw Piles. Townsfolk and Land Cards slide right; Space and Water Cards slide left; Inspiration Cards slide downward. Workers and Influence remain on Cards as they slide.
Workers on Cards: When acquiring a Card with Workers on it, retrieve those Workers to your supply.
Important Rule: Other than their immediate effects, the benefits of Cards can never be activated on the same turn they were acquired (avoids timing issues for Townsfolk and Vista Cards).
Upgrade Tiles
Players gain Upgrade Tiles for their Caravan. There are 5 types: Land, Water, Space, Basic, and Special (Pink). All function the same way, but their icons are referenced by Cards for abilities or scoring.
- Costs for Land, Water, Space, and Basic tiles are shown where they are kept on the Main Board. Special (Pink) tiles have no cost but are much harder to acquire — most commonly by advancing along the Journal Track.
- Tiles must fit into the Caravan (a grid of 6 columns and 3 rows). Tiles cannot cover other Tiles or sit off the paper's edge. Tiles may be flipped (only relevant for Land/Water Upgrades) but never rotated. Once placed, they cannot be moved or removed.
- Many Caravan spaces show pre-printed icons — immediate effects gained when covered by a Tile.
- Some Tiles have printed VP (end-game scoring only).
- Special (Pink) Upgrade Tiles also feature Tags, functioning exactly like Card Tags (activating Vistas, helping Journaling, scoring for Star Cards, contributing to Inspiration goals). Their primary Tags also count toward end-game Tag scoring.
- Many Tiles feature Assets used for Dice placement. The Caravan starts with a Camel in column 1 and a Telescope in column 6. Assets are: Camel, Ship, Telescope, Pigeon. Some Tiles feature a Provision or Silver discount (discounting a Die's whole action by 1 of that resource when placed in that column), or Dice manipulation (altering Dice faces before placement).
Player Turns
On each turn do one of the following:
- Place a Die — Onto your own Board or a Card you previously acquired. Your Caravan dictates each Die face's Assets and benefits.
- Place a Worker — Start with 1 Yellow and 1 Blue Worker; place onto Cards around the Main Board. Once placed, Workers are a public resource all players can access.
- Rest — Return your Dice, gather resources, and advance the Journal Track (see Resting).
Placing a Die
You start with 3 Dice (rolled at setup). Place a single Die onto an empty space on your own Board or a Card you acquired.
Assets: A space may show no Assets (any Die), one Asset (e.g. a Ship required), or multiple Assets (all required). Assets can be provided 3 ways: Guild abilities (spend Blue Influence to gain a Ship), Townsfolk Cards, and the Caravan.
- Blue Influence for a Ship: Once per turn, spend 1 Blue Influence to hire a Ship (temporary, for one Die placement). If a Harbour needs 2 Ships, this fills only 1; the other must come from a Townsfolk Card or Caravan.
The Caravan is a 6-column, 3-row grid; each column matches a Die face (1-6). It starts with a Camel in column 1 and a Telescope in column 6. Upgrade Tiles customize it.
Dice manipulation: Icons let you alter a Die face before placing. Manipulations may chain (e.g. 1→2→3) but do not stack (two negative icons in a column do not let you change a 5 to a 3). Dice values do not wrap — a 1 can never decrease to a 6, and a 6 can never increase to a 1.
- Yellow Influence: Once per turn, spend 1 Yellow Influence to increase or decrease Dice in your supply by 2 (one Die by 2, or two different Dice by 1 each). Usable before or after a single chain of Caravan manipulation, but not during.
Once a Die with required Assets is placed, perform that space's actions in any order. Actions are always optional; costs must be paid in full first.
Sample starting spaces (Player Board):
- Requires a Camel. Spend 2 Provisions to acquire a Land Card and gain 1 Silver.
- Requires a Telescope. Acquire a Space Card; or a Space Upgrade Tile.
- Requires a Pigeon. Journal; or retrieve a Worker and place 1 Influence in a chosen Guild.
- Acquire a Townsfolk Card; or gain 2 Provisions.
- Acquire a Basic Upgrade Tile; or gain 2 Silver.
- Requires a Ship. Spend 2 Provisions to acquire a Water Card.
Die-related abilities:
- Refresh a Die: Pick up a Die from a used space on your Board or Cards, roll it, and return it to your supply (opening that space again); you may refresh the same Die just placed. If you have no Dice on your Board (or prefer not to remove one), instead reroll a Die in your supply.
- Gain a new Die: Two Journal Track columns show this — take a new Die from the reserve, roll it, and add it to your supply (mandatory).
Placing a Worker
Place a Worker onto a faceup Card around the Main Board's edges (excluding Space Cards), resolving the action shown on the board edge where that Card sits. You may only place a Worker if you can resolve at least 1 part of its action (you cannot place it to do nothing). Worker-colour limits per Card type:
- Townsfolk Card: Only 1 Green Worker.
- Land Card: 1 Green and 1 Yellow Worker.
- Water Card: 1 Green and 1 Blue Worker.
- Inspiration Card: 1 Green, 1 Yellow, and 1 Blue Worker.
You can never place and retrieve the same Worker during a single turn. If retrieving a Worker would require acquiring a Card that Worker sits on, you could not choose to acquire that Card.
Resting
If you cannot (or choose not to) place a Die or Worker, you may Rest. First count Dice remaining in your supply: if 0 or 1, you activate all your Resting abilities; if 2 or more, no abilities activate. Then move all Dice from your panorama and roll them back into your supply (you may also reroll any that were already in supply). If eligible, resolve all Resting abilities in any order — all optional. Resting abilities come from blue-bannered Townsfolk, always tucked under Open Water Cards; all players start with 1 tucked under their Player Board (typically a Journal ability, so players usually Journal each Rest).
End of the Game
The end is triggered once a player reaches 1 of the 5 final spaces on the Journal Track. After they finish their turn, play continues once more around the table, with all players (including the triggering player) taking 1 final turn.
Scoring
Add up VP in these areas:
- Primary Land and Water Tags — score your City, Vista, Harbour, and Open Water counts (common sets), plus 5 VP per unique set of all 4. Count Tags in the Caravan too.
- Space Cards and Achieved Inspiration Cards — score each Space Card (Comet holders check who has the most Comet Tags); doubled by achieved Inspiration goals. Count Tags in the Caravan.
- The Caravan — all printed VP values on Upgrade Tiles.
- Guild Majorities — 3 VP to the player with the most Influence in each Guild (ties score nothing).
Most total VP wins. Tie-breakers in order: most Black Influence, then most Yellow, then most Blue; if still tied, share the victory.
Solo Play
Set up as for a 2-player game with these changes:
- Choose a Player Board and flip it to the AI side (your opponent). Each AI Board has its own Focus.
- The AI gets no Dice. Use 2 Player Markers of the unused colour: 1 on the top-left of the Resource Track, 1 on the 0 space of the Comet Track. Their own-colour Marker starts on the Journal Track's start.
- The AI still starts with 1 Yellow and 1 Blue Worker.
- The AI is always the 2nd player, gains no Provisions or Silver, but starts with 1 Influence in the Yellow Guild and 1 in Blue (remaining Influence to their supply). The AI is not limited by Influence in supply (use an unused colour if needed).
- Shuffle all Scheme Cards into a facedown Draw Pile.
Turns: Your turns are unchanged. On the AI's turn you either reveal a Scheme Card or resolve a Rest. If, at the start of its turn, the AI has 3 faceup Red or 3 faceup Blue Scheme Cards, it Rests; otherwise it reveals a new Scheme Card (so it always Rests after 3-5 revealed cards).
Revealing a Scheme Card: (1) Move the AI's Marker clockwise around the Resource Track equal to the card's Silver Value, resolving effects passed over (gaining a Comet, Influencing a Guild, gaining a Townsfolk Card). (2) If able, resolve the First Action; otherwise take the Second Action (never both). It cannot take an action lacking required Influence or Workers; given a choice of Workers it prioritizes Green.
Resting: Follow the blue banner at the bottom of the AI Board left to right: (1) check the most recently revealed Scheme Card — if it shows a Comet bottom-right, move up the Comet Track; (2) acquire a Space Card, Townsfolk Card, Upgrade Tile, or Influence a Card; (3) Journal. Do not refresh Cards until the turn is complete, then reshuffle the Scheme Cards.
Special rules: The AI ignores all costs (except Scheme Card costs) and all Journal Track requirements (but gains all Track rewards; in the final column it gains a Pink Upgrade, not an Inspiration Card). It ignores all icons on Cards/Tiles it acquires (Comets, Influence, free Upgrades) but still scores VP from Upgrade Tiles. The AI board's top row shows icon substitutions. Any time the AI gains a Comet (never from Space Cards or Upgrade Tiles), move up its Comet Track unless already at top.
AI Prioritising: The Resource Track Marker's position gives a colour (Black, Blue, Yellow, Green) used when Influencing Cards, acquiring Upgrade Tiles, and placing/retrieving Workers, plus which Inspiration Card to prioritise (top/middle/bottom row). If a colour priority gives no benefit, move to the next colour clockwise. The sum value of the 2 most recently revealed Scheme Cards gives a value 0-4 used for most AI actions: sum 0-1 prioritizes the centre-most Card/Tile, shifting outward as the sum increases (sum 4 moves inward as if a 4th pile). If the AI cannot interact with its priority, it moves to the next choice (wrapping as needed).
- The AI places only Green Workers on Townsfolk, Yellow on Land, Blue on Water Cards, resolving all printed actions. Retrieving Workers, it always takes Green first, else its Resource Track colour, then sum value.
- On the Journal Track, whether it takes the higher or lower path is set by the majority colour of all faceup Scheme Cards (Blue = higher, Red = lower); if tied, the most recent card decides. In the last column it never takes the middle option. Before Journaling, if the AI is behind your Marker it spends 1 Black Influence for an extra space (2 if in the same column, 3 if ahead), only if it has the Influence.
Solo Influence on Cards: If the AI has Influence on a Card you want, you still pay it, moving its Marker 1 space around the Resource Track. If the AI wants a Card you have Influence on, you may (1) let it interact and take 1 Provision or 1 Silver, or (2) deny it by paying 1 Provision or 1 Silver to push it to its next priority Card (repeatable while affordable; you cannot fully deny a whole Card type).
Solo scoring: The AI scores 1 VP per Townsfolk Card, 2 VP per Land/Water Card, 3 VP per Space Card, 4 VP per Inspiration Card, VP from Upgrade Tiles, and Guild Majorities. It does not score Comets, but its Comet Tag tally affects whether you hold the majority for your Comets.
Important Rules
- Players may only use each Guild ability once per turn.
- After placing a Worker, you may not take any action that would retrieve that same Worker the same turn.
- Upgrade Tiles may be flipped, but not rotated.
- Townsfolk and Vista abilities cannot be activated on the same turn they are acquired.